Selected Issues: Offender Reintegration
Offender reintegration. What’s in a name?
Goals
Know and have critical insight into
- The narrow & broad perspective on reintegration
- The meaning of different words used to refer to reintegration and related aspects, and the use of these
(re-)words
- The different aims/forms of rehabilitation/reintegration
- The stakeholders involved in reintegration
Background of the selected issues
Corrections > crime control and punishment
- 'Reintegration' is also an essential topic in criminal justice and criminology
- Altough this is recognized by many scholars, this recognition is not reflected in criminal justice and criminology
curricula
- As reintegration entails more than criminal justice interventions and is connected to different policy domains,
other curricula should also have attention for this subject...
▪ F.i. elective cours 'Pedagogical acting in judicial and forensic contexts' (FPPW)
- Courses focusing on offender reintegration = good practice...
Group discussion
What is offender reintegration?
Discuss about and formulate (an) answer(s) to the following questions:
- What do you think of when you hear the word (offender) reintegration or what are the first things that pop
into your mind?
- Who is involved in or responsible for (offender) reintegration?
- What are the aims of reintegration or when is a person who committed crime reintegrated?
Content
1. Buzzword
2. Event AND process
2.1. Ongoing process
2.2. Rehabilitation
2.3. Reentry
2.4. Reintegration
2.5. Resettlement
3. Offender?
4. Conceptualising rehabilitation/ reintegration
4. Multiple stakeholders
5. The use of re-words
,1. Buzzword
A lot of words are used to refer to reintegration
- Interchangeable use of terms as ‘reintegration’ (EU), ‘resocialization’ (EU), ‘reentry’ (US), ‘resettlement’ (UK),
‘throughcare’ (UK), ‘rehabilitation’, … (Carlen, 2013; Griffiths et al., 2007; McNeill & Graham, 2018), and
sometimes even ‘recidivism’, ‘reoffending’, … (Wright & Cesar, 2013).
▪ Different concepts or words are used to refer to the same things, so they are used interchangeably
- But have nevertheless different connotations!
▪ They have different meanings depending on the area where they are used and also in different cultures
→ So time and place is really important to keep in mind when you look to these words
➔ The use of these words also has consequences for the goal they are referring to.
2. Event and process
- Narrow & broad perspective on or definition of ‘reintegration’ (Dünkel et al., 2019; Maruna et al., 2004;
Owens, 2015; Visher, 2015)
- Narrow perspective
▪ More form a 'reentry' perspective, it's a moment, when a person returns to society and the person isn't
really involved in the process
- Broad perspective
▪ Not just a moment when someone leaves for example the prison, here the reintegration process
actually starts when a person has committed an offence or when a person enters prison, involves
multiple actors
,2.1 Ongoing process
“Offender reintegration begins when an inmate first enters prison and continues through their eventual release back
into the community” (Wright & Cesar, 2013, p. 377)
➔ !!! QUOTE kunnen bespreken op het examen !!!
(Gideon & Sung, 2010)
➔ These 3 concepts or processes are an ongoing process, they underpin and fuel each other
2.2 Rehabilitation
- Narrow: (continuous) assessment & intervention/treatment for risks and needs (Gideon & Sung, 2010)
▪ Often related to risk and need assessment
- Result of (Gideon & Sung, 2010)
▪ Deliberate effort of criminal justice authorities (↔ ‘self-induced’ change in the context of desistance)
→ Desistance is more about change that comes from the person itself
→ Rehabilitation is more about efforts of criminal justice authorities, there is even agency of the
person
▪ Self-motivated participation of or passive compliance from the offender
- First step ~ seeds for successfull reintegration (hence arrow from reintegration to rehabilitation)
▪ Rehabilitation fuels reintegration
- Resocialization, reclassification (Grootaert, 2016), correctional rehabilitation, reform (< psychological
interventions ~ personality, also other interventions ~ 'moral character', f.i. education)
- Broad: processes and practices that aim at the successful reintegration of those who have offended (McNeill
& Graham, 2019; see further)
2.3 Reentry
- The moment of release (Dünkel et al., 2019; Owens, 2015; Visher, 2015)
▪ So, it’s a moment
- ≠ intervention strategies or programs (Gideon & Sung, 2010)
▪ So, doesn’t really refer to these things
- Physical relocation (Gideon & Sung, 2010)
▪ physical dimension: universal
▪ social and psychological demands ~ individual
- Should be accompanied by proper supervision
, 2.4 Reintegration
- Begins after reentry: continuation of rehabilitation process and underpins the reentry process → functional
dimension of reentry (Gideon & Sung, 2010)
▪ Reentry process = vicious circle
- Establishing, reconnecting and/or maintaining social relations in the community → social dimension of
reentry (Dünkel et al., 2019; Visher, 2015)
▪ Also being accepted as a valuable person of society, the change that the person made is also accepted
by others
▪ BUT it’s not easy to find a balance between working on themselves and how can I contribute to society
- Symbolic element of moral inclusion after (physical) reentry into society (Maruna, 2006)
- Not easy → Continuous struggle to “make good” (Maruna, 2001)
▪ Maintained by the interaction between correctional authorities and the returning ex-offender
(~ supervision, control) (Gideon & Sung, 2010)
▪ Supported by the individual’s family and community (~ support) (McNeill & Graham, 2019)
2.5 Resettlement
- Comprises the whole process including release preparation within prison, probation, and aftercare (Dünkel et
al., 2019; Griffiths et al., 2007; Maguire et al., 2002)
▪ So it’s about the entire process, before release → Where release is being prepared (like detention plans)
→ Probation → Reentry process → Aftercare
→ Release preparation
= From first day in prison (or even before…), and intensification prior to release
→ Probation/parole/release
Through-care
= Continuation of support and supervision (often under license or compulsory)
→ Aftercare/voluntary throughcare
= Voluntary, support and supervision at request of offenders/prisoners
- Surveillance & supervision are part of the process not goals, thus subordinated to the overall aim of the social
reintegration of offenders (Dünkel et al., 2019)
3. Offender?
- Person who has commited crime (adults)
▪ Offender reintegration?
▪ After crime and punishment?
▪ Returning, citizens, formerly incarcerated individuals... (Jackl, 2021)
3.1 Conceptualising rehabilitation
- Four forms of rehabilitative processes that aim at four forms of reintegration (McNeill, 2012, McNeill &
Graham, 2020)
▪ It’s difficult to disentangle these four processes from each other because they are interconnected
- Interdependent and interrelated processes and outcomes but need disentanglement to be more clearly
understood
